Well, Roger, that has indeed warm the trail briefly. I have replied direct on Ships Nostalgia so that I could attach the press cuttings, but in summary:

'Daily Herald' (London) of 3 July 1948 reports that the tug was detained on 27 June after customs examination at Dieppe - she had previously sailed from Dieppe on 28 May. The part-owner Douglas B Perry as well as the master James Clark and a deckhand were detained, accused of smuggling goods out of France (they declined consular assistance in court - hmmm)

'Daily Mirror' (London) of 22 December 1948 reported the master was anonymously bailed for £200, leaving three of her crew in jail, still awaiting charges

On 22 February 1949 it was reported by several papers that "two disinterested friends" had paid 10 million francs (£9,437) to free the remaining detainees - and Clark as well as an Italian film actor were unconditionally released from their bail. The tug VENTURE and a car were being returned to their owners (but not the currency seized from the tug or the 665 Swiss watches from the car).

No later reports found.
[www.shipsnostalgia.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/2018 09:05PM by david asprey.